Drive
by Kiteria
Summary: Growing up, the only family Skye had was her cousin Deidara and his sister. Itachi and his band were the brothers, and sister, she'd never had but always wanted. She left to try and make it on her own, but things didn't turn out the way she'd planned and she wound up running for her life. Will the demons she's trying to run from stay in the past or will they follow her?
1. Comatose

A/N: I know, I know. _Another_ story? I couldn't help it, and I'm gonna do this one like I am Loyalty and Love, write a chapter ahead, but only post the one I have finished. Anyways, hope you guys like this and please review.

* * *

The only thing I could hear was the sound of my heavy breathing and the frantic, yet oddly rhythmic thump, thump, thump of my heart in my chest while I hid in a ditch as the police zoomed by. The street lights of Kirikagure illuminated parts of the street, but thankfully the rays of light didn't reach where I was hiding.

After a while of silence I got ready to crawl out of the ditch just as I heard something clank behind me and screamed in shock as I whirled around after getting to my feet to see a dog slamming itself against the chainlength fence behind me and starting to bark loudly.

"Stupid dog."

I mumbled as I let my hand fall from my chest where I could feel my hert beating erratically, more than it had been before. I turned and looked around again before climbing out of the ditch and taking off down the street.

As I ran, I passed under street lights. I frowned as I glanced down at myself in the light. My once white Asking Alexandria shirt was now soaked with blood and covered in dirt from the ditch I'd just crawled out of. My jeans were ripped and I felt blood running down my leg from the shards of glass that had gotten lodged in it during my fight. By no means was that the only wound I had, but it was the only one I was going to focus on at the moment. I stopped and leaned up against one of the buildings, trying to catch my breath.

I heard the police sirens and saw the blue and red flashing lights bounce off the glass of one of the shops I was standing infront of.

"Dammit!"

I cursed before pushing off from the wall I'd been leaning against to rest and started running again. I had to get away. If they caught me they wouldn't even bother to listen to reason since I was covered in his blood and I was the last person to see him alive.

_I hate feeling like this_  
_I'm so tired of trying to fight this_  
_I'm asleep and all I dream of_  
_Is waking to you_

I wasn't going to let him keep treating me like he had. I'd gotten enough bruises and scars from him, all the while hoping he'd realize what he was doing and stop, but he didn't. I didn't leave because I thought he loved me, but I was a fool. I'd found out the hard way that love simply does not exist.

_Tell me that you will listen_  
_Your touch is what I'm missing_  
_And the more I hide I realize, I'm slowly losing you._

I fought back again tonight and he threw me into the window. When I'd looked back up at him I knew he wasn't going to be satisfied with simple drunken kisses and pinning me down.

_Comatose_  
_I'll never wake up without an overdose of you_

He left me with no choice. I should have left, but I was a fool and now I couldn't stay here anymore. There was only one place I could go now, I just hated the fact I was bringing all this to them, but I had nowhere else to go. I pushed myself harder as it started to pour. I had no other choice.

* * *

-Deidara-

"Hey Deidara, you heard anything from your cousin?"

Itachi asked as we brought all the gear up to my apartment.

"No. I haven't heard from her in almost three years."

I said sadly. I knew she left to try and make it on her own, but the sudden lack of communication from her worried me. There was also the fact that my sister had that accident two years ago she didn't know about.

"I'm sure she's fine, you know how teenagers are."

He said as Sasori opened the door for us before going back to the couch while Itachi and I finished setting up. The band often practiced at my place because it was the biggest and was the closest to the music store.

"Yeah."

I said solemnly, but i had this nagging feeling that something was wrong.

"Enough talk. It's almost one, let's practice."

Pein said as he walked into the room with Konan behind him. We always practiced at weird times, but none of us minded.

We all moved around the instruments and got to our places. Sasori was on the drums, Itachi and Konan were on base and back-up vocals, I had a guitar in my hands and Pein was standing next to the microphone. Sasori counted us in and we started practicing. We managed to go through our entire song list and start the last one just as it was nearing four in the morning.

_"I'm at war with the world and they_  
_Try to pull me into the dark_  
_I struggle to find my faith_  
_As I'm slippin' from your arms..."_

I was about to go into the next part of the song when I heard something outside my door.

"Deidara."

Pein said, upset I stopped mid-song. I nodded and was about to start practicing again when the sound came again. I set my guitar on its stand before going over to the door. I opened it and froze.

"Who is it Deidara?"

I heard Sasori ask from inside, but couldn't bring myself to answer as I looked at my little cousin leaning against the doorframe covered in blood and bruises. Her hair was matted and I could see it had been forecefully hacked off at her shoulders. But what got me most, was the fact that her light blue eyes that used to be so full of fire were now dull and lifeless.

"Skye."

I said in disbelief, almost not believing it was really her.

"Dei..."

She said in a whisper so quiet that I almost didn't hear her, but I did and there was no doubt it was her.

"What happened?"

I asked before I saw her fall forward.

"Skye!"

I cried before diving and catching her before she could hit the ground. I noticed she was soaking wet and burning up and started to panic.

"Guys, _help!"_


	2. Cry In the Night

-No one-

Sasori, Itachi and the others looked at each other before they all put their instruments down and raced for the door at Deidara's call for help. When they all crowded around the doorway to try and see what caused their friend to call out they couldn't believe their eyes.

"Is that..."

Sasori asked, but couldn't bring himself to finish his question as he looked down at the blood covered girl lying in Deidara's arms.

"It is, now help me get her inside. She has a fever and I think she's been hurt."

Deidara said, but no one moved. They were all too shocked at the state the girl they all loved was in.

"Stop just standing there, I need help yeah!"

Deidara snapped and that seemed to snap everyone out of their daze as Itachi and Sasori helped Deidara carry the girl inside.

"Move."

Konan said as she pushed through the boys who had crowded around the girl they'd set down on the couch.

"What are you-"

Pein started to ask, but Konan cut him off.

"She's soaking wet and is burning up. Do you want me to help her or not!?"

She snapped at her boyfriend and he shut up.

"That's what I thought, now everyone, out!"

She yelled and shooed them out the front door of the apartment, ignoring their complaints and shut the door behind them before turning back to the girl lying unconcious on the couch.

"What did you get yourself into this time Skye?"

Konan asked to no one in particular before going into her and Pein's borrowed room and getting some dry clothes before walking back into the living room. She set the clothes on the floor before rolling her sleeves up and getting to work.

* * *

-Pein-

Itachi, Deidara, Sasori and I all went to the parking lot of the apartment complex Deidara lived in since Konan had kicked us out. I knew she was only doing it to help since she was the only one of us with any kind of medical training, but still, did she have to make us leave? We were all worried about Skye. I still couldn't believe that was really her, covered in all that blood and looking the way she did.

"Do you think she'll be alright yeah?"

Deidara asked, being the first to break the silence that had settled over us as we lounged around the brick wall surrounding the complex.

"I don't know, did you see those wounds-ow!"

Sasori said, glaring at Itachi for having smacked the back of his head, but he simply nodded in Deidara's direction and Sasori turned to see our blonde friend seemed to be depressed now.

_Way to go Sasori you idiot._

I thought before running a hand through my hair.

"Don't worry Deidara, Konan went through four years of medical school, if anyone can help Skye it's her."

I said, hoping to reassure him, but if it worked it didn't show and I glared at Sasori who held his hands up in defeat. Honestly, all we could do was wait until Konan called us back in, but I couldn't help but wonder, just what happened to Skye to end up like that?

* * *

-Konan-

I knew that Skye was messed up, but I had no idea it was this bad. As soon as I'd managed to get her soaked clothes off of her-I had to cut them off-the blood they had been soaking up started to flow freely and I had to rush into the bathroom to grab some towels and the first aid kit so it didn't get on the couch. Seriously, why the guys put her on the _white_ couch I will never know.

I managed to stop the bleeding of one wound long enough to stitch it up, only for another one to start bleeding. She had so many cuts and bruises that I would have sworn she'd gotten in a fight with a woodchipper, but I knew better. I could see the slight indentation of a fist amonst the bruises that marred her skin and frowned as I stitched up the gash on her leg after pulling out shards of glass. That made even more blood come out and I cursed as I tried to stop the bleeding while trying to stitch her up. I was glad she was unconcious at the moment, because if she wasn't I'd have had a harder time with this than I already was.

I sighed as I stood up and wiped my brow with the back of my hand, careful not to get any of Skye's blood on me more than it already was. She was cleaned up and stitched up as best as I could do, which was pretty damn good considering the state wouldn't give me a fucking medical license the bastards. She was wearing one of Pein's Black Veil Brides shirts and a pair of my sweat pants with the words 'Fighting Bitch' written in red going down the side which was just ironic considering the girl wearing them. They seemed to describe her perfectly.

Shaking my head, I carried the supplies I'd used and what was left of Skye's ruined clothes and threw them in the metal burn barrel out back and doused it with lighter fluid before tossing a match in with it. I made sure it stayed in the barrel before heading back into the apartment through the backdoor. I checked on Skye before going into the spare bathroom and cleaning myself up. If the boys came back and Skye wasn't the only one covered in blood, they'd freak. Something about girls and blood had them all dancing on eggshells for some reason. Once I was sure I was clean I grabbed my phone and texted Pein, saying it was okay to come back into the apartment. I leaned against the arm of the couch and glanced down at the dark purple, almost black, and navy blue haired girl lying asleep on the couch. Some time during my treatment she'd broken through her fever and was now just sleeping, which from the bags under her eyes, she seemed to need.

"Seriously Skye, you'd think by now you'd know you don't have to face everything on your own."

I said aloud to myself since there was no way she could hear me.

I heard the boys coming up the steps before bursting into the apartment. Deidara ran straight for the couch and knelt down beside his cousin, worry clear on his face and I felt bad for him. He'd lost his sister and his parents were long gone, so Skye was really the only family he had left and they were more like brother and sister than just cousins. Hell, Skye was like a sister to all of us.

"How is she?"

Itachi asked and I looked up from Deidara and Skye to look up at him. I frowned and motioned for him to follow me into another room. I wasn't really shocked when Pein chose to follow too. I shut the door and made sure no one was listening from the other side before sighing and crossing my arms under my chest as I leaned against the door facing both Itachi and Pein.

"She's fine, all she needs is some rest and she'll be right as rain."

I said, but frowned as I looked at the floorboard between me and the boys.

"What is it Konan?"

Pein asked and my frown deepened.

"It was worse than it seemed. She's covered in cuts and bruises, but they're not the kind you get from any streetfight."

I said and that made them both frown and look at each other before looking back at me.

"I don't know what happened to her in the years she stopped writing Deidara, but I do know that she was abused."

I said and heard Pein's sharp intake of breath and saw Itachi stiffen.

"Are you sure?"

He asked and I nodded.

"There's no mistaking it. I've seen a lot during my medical training at the hospitals. Car accidents, drug fights, street fights, domestic violence disbutes, hit and runs, drive-bys, you name it, but there is no mistaking those bruises. I could see the indention of someone's fist and she had healing bruises as well as fading scars so this has been happening for a while. I'm willing to bet that _that _is why she stopped writing."

I said and neither of them said anything.

"You can't tell Deidara."

I said, being the first to break the silence and they both looked up at me, clearly not happy with my decision.

"You know how he is, if we tell him he'll run off to Kiri and storm the entire place looking for the bastard who did it and won't stop until he finds him. You also know how Skye is, she'll want all of us to stay out of it."

I said and saw they both didn't like it, but knew I was right.

"So what do we do? Just act like we know nothing?"

Pein asked and I nodded.

"Yes. As much as you may want to say something, don't. Let her come to us."

I said and they hesitated, but eventually they both nodded.

"We should get back out there before Deidara starts crying."

I said as I opened the door.

"Too late."

Itachi said as we all saw Deidara holding onto Skye's hand and crying, blabbering about hoping she'd be okay and come out of it soon. He really did need her, just like she needed him although she tried to do things on her own. I just hoped she woke up soon or I'd have to get Pein to knock Deidara out.


	3. In Pain, but Alive

A/N: I know I just started this one, but before I get all update happy then get stuck, i'm telling you now that I'm gonna be updating-or trying to update-every Tuesday and Friday. Anyways, please read and review, and above all, enjoy! And a thank you to OokamiLover19 for betaing this and helping with chapter names. You're awesome, thank you!

* * *

-Skye-

I opened my eyes and blinked a couple of times to help them adjust to the dim lighting in whatever room I was in. I looked up at the ceiling and frowned when it seemed vaugely familiar to me. I turned my head and glanced around the room I was in and remembered I'd come to Deidara's place.

I tried to sit up and cringed as the movement made my entire body scream in protest. I sighed before gritting my teeth and dealing with the pain as I forced myself into a sitting position. I closed my eyes and let out a silent scream of pain before taking a couple of deep breaths as the pain faded.

_Damn, I can't remember the last time I was this tore up._

I thought before looking around the room again. My eyes widened when I saw Sasori and Itachi passed out on either side of the couch on the other side of the room, Pein asleep with his back against the wall next to everyone's instruments with Konan in his arms, also asleep. But what shocked me the most was the fact that Deidara was asleep with his head on the couch cushion. How he hadn't woken when I'd moved was beyond me, but as I looked down at my cousin I felt horrible at the worry I'd made him feel as I saw tear stains on his face.

"Dei..."

I said softly, but frowned at the sound of my voice. It was hoarse from lack of use and I sorely needed something to drink.

I froze when Deidara stirred and slowly opened his eyes. He sat up and rubbed his eyes before looking at me. I smiled to myself at the fact it took him a minute to register that I was awake before he attacked me and pulled me into a crushing hug.

"Skye!"

He shouted and I laughed slightly before wrapping my arms around him and hugging him back.

"What's all the racket?"

I heard Konan ask sleepily.

"Yeah, shut up Deidara, we're trying to sleep."

Sasori said and I couldn't help but laugh at their comments.

"Gee, thanks Sori. I see how much I'm loved."

I said with a smile and laughed slightly when his eyes snapped open and stared at me in awe before he, Itachi, Pein, and Konan all got to their feet and rushed over to the couch and attacked me in a hug.

"Can't breathe!"

I screamed and they all immediately backed up with apologies except for Deidara.

"Dei?"

I asked after he had looked everywhere but my eyes.

"I'm just so glad you're okay."

He said, finally bringing his blue eyes up to meet my own. I sighed when I saw tears in them and pulled my cousin in for a hug.

"Dei, you crybaby."

I whispered as I brushed his hair out of his eyes and kissed him on the forehead like I used to do when we were younger whenever he was upset.

* * *

-Itachi-

We'd all wound up falling asleep in the living room after Konan had told Deidara and Sasori that Skye would be okay. When Deidara had shouted we'd all woke up and hadn't been too happy about it until Skye spoke. I was glad she seemed okay, despite her injuries. She was still her usual sarcastic self, but still had a soft spot for Deidara. She hadn't changed all that much in the past three years after all.

"Skye, what happpened to-"

Sasori started, but Konan stepped on his foot making him cry out, but she ignored him and cut him off.

"Do you have a place to stay Skye?"

Konan asked and I noticed the glare she sent Sasori.

"No..."

Skye said and I saw Konan frown. She couldn't stay with her since she lived with Pein, and she couldn't stay with Deidara because Sasori was rooming with him.

"She can stay with me."

I said and everyone turned to look at me. It was only Sasuke and me in our house so it was no problem, not to mention Skye was roughly the same age as my little brother and it would do her some good to make some friends that weren't three or four years older than her.

"You're sure Tachi? I don't want to be a burden."

Skye said and I shook my head.

"Skye, you could never be a burden."

I said and she smiled up at me.

"Then it's settled."

Pein said as he wrapped his arms around Konan's waist and pulled her against his chest.

"You can stay with Itachi, you can go home with him as soon as you're ready."

He said and I saw Skye nod before swinging her feet around and trying to stand up.

Deidara and I caught her before she could fall.

"Haha, sorry guys, guess I'm still a little out of it."

She said with a smile and I sighed as I let go of her arm and let her stand on her own. Deidara was a little hesitant to let her go, but after some time he did.

"Pein, you care if I take a shower?"

She asked and Pein shook his head, saying he didn't mind. Skye smiled before slipping past Sasori and I and going down the hall to the bathroom. Once the door shut Sasori turned to Konan.

"What the hell was that for?"

He asked and she sighed.

"You idiot, you can't ask her what happened so soon. Have you forgotten how she is? She'll just close up, we just got her back."

She said and Sasori opened his mouth to argue, but closed it when he realized she was right. Skye was a special case, you had to be careful how you acted around her and what you said or she might go off. She'd always been that way, but it seemed whenever she was around me and the others she was better.

"She'll tell us when she's ready, just don't push it."

Konan said and we all nodded, silently agreeing not to try and force Skye to tell us what happened. I just hoped she didn't keep everything bottled up, we were here for her when she needed us. We always were and always would be, she was family. She was our sister.


	4. Running From the Storm

-Skye-

I hissed as the hot water hit my injuries. I could tell from how tight the stitches were tied that Konan had been the one to stitch me up. It wasn't the first time she'd had to patch me up, and it wouldn't be the last. She'd operated so much on me and the guys that by the time she finally decided to go to school for medicine she was practically a pro.

I gingerly passed the washcloth over my body, applying more pressure in some spots to get dried blood off. I noticed most of it was already gone and I mentally smiled at the fact Konan had cleaned me up too. I rinsed my body, then my hair before just standing beneath the water and letting it wash over me. I laid my head against the black and white tile of the shower and sighed.

"Why did I come back here? I shouldn't bring my problems to them, they don't need this."

I whispered to myself as I closed my eyes and fought back tears as I remembered what had happened between Shinta and I. I hadn't meant to hurt him at first, but after what he did I couldn't help it. I had no choice, it was either that or let him kill me.

* * *

_Skye glared up at the sky as it poured down rain. It was suppose to rain on and off all day. She had just gotten inside the lobby of her apartment building when a flash of lightning lit up the sky. She shivered as her black shirt was soaked through and she had forgotten her jacket when she'd left earlier that morning._

_Wanting nothing more than to take a hot shower, she ran up the three floors to her flat before digging her keys out and opening the door to her and her boyfriend's apartment. She tossed her keys in the bowel by the door before kicking off her shoes._

_"Babe? You home?"_

_She called to the dark apartment as she stepped up onto the landing, when she got no response she walked down the hall towards the bathroom, cutting on lights as she went. She paused inside their room long enough to get some clean clothes before going into the bathroom and stepping inside the shower after having stripped out of her wet clothes._

_Halfway through her shower Skye heard the apartment door open. Wanting to tell her boyfriend the good news she'd found out earlier today, she hurried with the rest of her shower before stepping out, drying off, and getting dressed in record time._

_"Babe?"_

_She called out as she walked down the hall and into the livingroom of their shared apartment._

_"You'll never guess what I found out today. You'll be so happy."_

_She said with a smile as she turned the corner, but she froze when she saw her boyfriend. His shaggy red hair was sticking up in places while sticking to his head in others. His green eyes were bloodshot and out of focus, he couldn't stand still without swaying, and she noticed he smelled strongly of alcohol._

_"Well! What is it!?"_

_He snapped at her and she flinched at the tone of his voice, but swallowed back her fear and decided to answer him. He had to know, it was his too._

_"Babe, I'm-"_

* * *

"Skye?"

I jumped at the sound of my name from the other side of the bathroom door. It took me a few minutes of having the now cold water hitting my face to realize where I was.

"Skye?"

Someone called my name again, this time sounding a little more concerned.

"I'm fine!"

I called back as I shut the water off and stepped out of the shower, drapping a towel around my body.

"You sure? I could always go get Konan."

I looked at the door when I realized it was Pein on the other side. I made sure the towel warpped around me was secure before going over to the door and opening it.

"Like I said, I'm fine."

I said with a forced smile, hoping he didn't press the matter. He seemed to look at me for a while before nodding just slightly.

"Alright."

He said and I mentally sighed in relief.

"You can borrow some of my clothes before heading out with Itachi, unless you want to stay here tonight. Konan and I can always go back to our pla-"

He started, but I cut him off.

"Thanks, but I'm good. I'll just get changed, then Itachi can take me to his place."

I said and saw him stare at me before nodding.

I pushed past him and padded down the hall to the third door on the right, then slipped inside. I shut the door behind me and flipped the lightswitch only to be blinded by the surprisingly bright bulb. When my eyes readjusted I couldn't help but smile at the fact Pein's room hadn't changed all that much except for the fact that some of Konan's stuff was in here too. I walked over to the closet and pulled out a pair of ripped skinny jeans that were a little too long for me and a purple Skillet t-shirt with the words 'I'm a Monster' written in white over a teddy bear with chains and piercings all over and fangs showing from the corner of its mouth. It was obviously Konan's shirt, but I didn't care, it fit me so that's all that mattered.

I walked back out of the room and stopped in the entrance of the livingroom. I crossed my arms and leaned against the wall as soon as I realized none of them had realized I had walked in. Itachi was standing beside my cousin by the band's instruments while Sasori was sitting on one end of the couch with Pein on the other end with Konan in his lap.

"Are you sure it's really okay for her to stay with you Itachi?"

Pein asked and I looked up at the Uchiha that was like my big brother.

"Yes. She can't stay here 'cuz Sasori and Deidara share the place, and she can't stay with Konan because she moved in with you."

He said and I saw all of them frown, as if deep in thought. This was why I hadn't wanted to come here, I didn't want to cause any issues for them, but I had nowhere else to go.

"Besides.."

Itachi said and I looked up at him, wondering what else he had to say.

"She's practically my sister, as she is to all of you. There's no way I'd let her be on her own, even if she screamed and shouted at me to leave her alone. Isn't that right, Skye."

My eyes widened when he said my name and looked at me, but then smiled just slightly. He always did notice me when no one else did. He and Deidara seemed to be the only ones who could easily read me before I spent some time with Konan, Pein, and Sasori, but even after all this time I guess only Itachi could still read me.

"I guess, ya big oaf."

I said with a smile as I pushed off from the wall and saw him return my smile.

"Come on midget, let's get going before it gets too late."

He said and I rolled my eyes at him as I followed him out the door.

"Tachi, it's past four o'clock."

I said and saw him tense as we walked down the stairs towards the parking lot with Konan and the others following. I heard them snicker at my comment and found myself smiling again.

"She got you there."

Konan said and she laughed when Itachi glared at her as he unlocked his car and stood on the other side.

"Yeah yeah. Keep it up lil sis, and I won't let you have any of your favorite icecream once we get to the house."

He said with a smirk and I gasped in horror at his comment.

"You wouldn't dare."

I said with narrowed eyes and his smirk just widened.

"Wouldn't I?"

He asked in a challenging tone and I knew he would, that was just how he was. So I did the only logical choice, slid inside the passenger side of his car without another word. I heard him laugh before saying goodbye to the others and getting in himself, then starting up the car. It wasn't long before we were speeding down the street towards the Uchiha manor.

* * *

-Deidara-

I was glad that Itachi was going to look after Skye, he was right when he'd said she couldn't stay with me or Konan. I was afraid that she would have already retreated within herself, but her playfulness with Itachi before and after getting to the parking lot set my mind at ease. She was still the same goofy little girl I remembered, she was still Skye. I just wondered how long it would be before something happened and she tried to hide from us. Whenever that happened, I just hoped we'd be able to get her back. I couldn't lose Skye, not when she was the only person I had left.


	5. Storms Rage On

-Sasuke-

I heard my brother's car pull up in the driveway and I glanced at the clock on the T.V and frowned. He'd been out all night, again. I heard his keys in the door and got to my feet and padded into the hallway by the door. I folded my arms across my chest and frowned as the door opened. I was expecting to see my older brother, but what I wasn't expecting was for him to be carrying a girl around my age in his arms.

"Sasuke."

Itachi said and I looked from the girl who was asleep in my brother's arms to my brother's eyes.

"Itachi."

I said and saw him smile just slightly.

"Is the room upstairs clean? The one across from yours."

He asked and I blinked in surprise before nodding slowly and watched as Itachi stepped inside the house after having kicked his shoes off and continued to go to the stairs and start to head upstairs. I followed after him and walked behind him as he turned down the hall to go to the room across from mine that we had used as a guest room until now. I was shocked to see my older brother acting so careful with the girl in his arms, just who was she?

* * *

-Itachi-

I hadn't expected Skye to fall asleep on the way over, but I guess she was more exhausted than she let on. Which wasn't surprising if what Konan had said really happened to her. Just the thought of someone hurting Skye like that made my blood boil, but there was nothing I could do about it but make sure she was okay.

I pushed the door open with my shoulder, being careful of Skye, before stepping inside and walking over to the bed. I gently laid her down on the bed before pulling up her knees and sliding them under the comforter on the bed and making sure she was covered before stepping back.

"Itachi...who is she?"

I heard my brother ask and turned to see him staring at her from the doorway, curiosity clear in his onyx colored eyes.

"She's an old friend of mine. You remember Deidara right?"

I asked as I walked out of the room with him following. I shut the door quietly after me before we both started heading back downstairs.

"That's his cousin, Skye. She's actually around your age, if not a little bit older."

I said as we reached the foot of the stairs. I heard him stop on the bottom step and turned to look back at him.

"Okay, but what's she doing here?"

He asked with a frown and I smiled at him just a bit.

"She's gonna be staying with us. This house is too big for just the two of us."

I said.

"Besides, she needs friends her own age, not just me, Deidara, Sasori, Pein, and Konan."

I explained and saw my little brother's frown deepen. I motioned for him to come closer and when he did I poked him in the forehead making him step back and scowl at me as he rubbed the spot I'd poked.

"She's been through a lot Sasuke and she'll need to be around people. Try to get along with her, okay?"

I asked and he stopped scowling at me and nodded.

"Good, now what say we order some pizza?"

I asked and he smiled slightly before following me into the kitchen as I pulled out my phone and dialed the number to the nearest Pizza Hut.

* * *

-Skye-

I jumped at the sound of shattering glass and turned to look at Shinta. He looked pissed, no, he looked beyond that, he looked enraged.

"You whore! What made you think that I'd be happy about something like that?"

He asked and I felt like someone had just punched me in the gut.

"But babe, I thought..."

I started, but trailed off when I heard him laugh.

"Thought what? That I loved you? Please, you were just a fine piece of ass that wasn't half bad in bed."

He said and I felt my heart clench in my chest before taking a step towards him.

"Please babe, you don't mean that, you're just drunk."

I said and was about to wrap my arms around him when I felt him backhand me. I stared up at him in shock, it wasn't like it had been the first time he'd hit me, but the fact that he'd hit me even after I'd told him of my condition.

"Drunk am I? I'll show you drunk you whore!"

He yelled before grabbing me by the front of my shirt and slamming me against the wall, then slamming his lips against mine. I tried to push him away, but he was too strong. My resistance only seemed to piss him off further because he slapped me again before throwing me to the floor. I looked up at him and shivered at the lust filled look in his green eyes.

"No."

I said in a broken whisper, but he didn't listen to me as he grabbed hold of my arm and pulled me towards him as he unbuckled his pants and pushed them down past his hips then started tugging at mine.

"No!"

I said and started hitting him as hard as I could.

"What? Now that you're pregnant you're too good for this?"

He asked with a scowl before reaching into his pocket for something. I didn't know what it was until he flicked his wrist and I heard the distinctive click of his pocketknife.

"In that case, it's time for you to get an abortion."

He said and raised his hand high over my stomach.

"No!"

I screamed and tried to get out of his grasp, but it was no use. Lightning flashed from outside and the light glinted off the blade before he plunged the six inch stainless steel blade into my abdomen.

"NO!"

I screamed and shot up out of bed. My breathing was ragged and I could hear my heart beating wildly in my chest, but I didn't care. I pulled my shirt up and reached a hand down only to feel the tight knit threads of stitching across my abdomen and felt tears well up in my eyes.

_Why?_

I wondered as I started to rock myself back and forth as I fought back the tears that wanted to fall.

_Why couldn't it have just been a dream?_

I wondered before hearing footsteps thundering up stairs, then coming my way. I didn't even look up as the door was thrown open, slamming carelessly into the wall, but I did look up when I heard Itachi's voice.

"Skye...Skye!"

I looked up to see worry clear in his onyx colored eyes and clearly etched on his face.

"Itachi..."

I choked out his name before the tears started falling down my face. He was by my side in an instant and wrapped his arms around me and pulling me into his lap.

"Shh, it's okay."

He said as he rocked me back and forth while smoothing back my hair to try and calm me down.

"He...he...he..."

I tried to speak, but Itachi just pulled me closer so that my head was buried in his chest.

"Shh, you don't have to talk about it until you're ready."

He said and I clutched the front of his shirt in my hands tightly and cried. I heard someone else enter the room, but I didn't care who it was. I didn't care about anything, I didn't focus on anything but the soothing motion of Itachi rocking me back and forth and quietly telling me everything would be okay and that he'd be here for me.

I rest my head on his shoulder, still clutching onto his shirt with tears streaming down my face, but my eyes felt heavy all of a sudden and I tried to keep them open, but it was a loosing battle.

"Go to sleep Skye, you're safe here."

Itachi said and I mumbled that I didn't want to go to sleep, that he would be there in my dreams, but Itachi promised me that he'd stay by my side and I found myself unwilling to stay awake much longer.

"He tried to kill me Tachi."

I whispered as my eyes finally closed and I started to slip into the world of dreams again, but this time I wasn't afraid. I felt safe with Itachi's arms around me and the smell of his cologne filling my nose with every breath. I was safe here with Itachi. He was my friend, my brother. He'd make sure nothing happened to me again, I could trust him.


	6. Family No Matter What

A/N: Again, my computer is freaking out on me and so i don't risk losing my chapters i'm posting them then gonna work on them on the site from now on. Enjoy the updates and review!

* * *

-Sasuke-

I watched my brother from the doorway. I had never seen him act this way before. When we had heard a scream from upstairs, I swear I'd never seen my brother move that fast. I'd barely been able to keep up with him as we both raced up the stairs. When we entered the room and Itachi saw Skye rocking herself back and forth on the bed, the look on his face was undescribable. It looked like he wanted to kill someone, but at the same time it looked like he wanted to cry, sigh, and curse all at the same time.

I looked up when I heard the springs of the bed creak and saw Itachi laying Skye back against the pillows and pulling the comforter up to her chin before brushing some of her hair back before turning to look at me. He looked drained as he walked past me and out into the hallway. I glanced back at the now, calmly sleeping girl before following after my brother.

When I made it downstairs, I found Itachi sitting at the kitchen table with his head in his hands.

"Big brother...?"

I asked uncertainly. Itachi wasn't really one for emotions, or at least not showing them like he was now, so for him to be showing so many so easily worried me slightly.

"I'm fine Sasuke."

He said and I frowned at him as I sat in the chair across the table from him.

"Just what happened to that girl?"

I asked, thinking that maybe if I knew something of what happened to her that I'd be able to have something to go off of as to why my brother was acting so strange.

"We're not a hundred percent sure, but from what Konan said she saw she thinks Skye has been abused for the past three years."

He said and I stared at him in shock before glancing back up towards the stairs. Now that I thought about it, she was covered in bruises and stitches.

"When she had showed up, it was Deidara that answered the door. She'd just collapsed in his arms and he had to have help carrying her inside the apartment."

Itachi continued to say and I looked back at my brother to see him run a hand through his hair with a sigh before looking up at me.

"She looked horrid. She was covered in blood and dirt and was soaked to the bone. She'd been living in Kiri up until then, Pein and I think she walked the whole way."

He said and my eyes widened. For her to be wounded like she was and still walk all the way from Kiri to Konoha like she did in such a short amount of time was just...unbelievable.

"Skye's not like most people. She'll hide behind smiles and a facade of being fine when in reality she's hurting inside. She won't want to burden others with her problems, which is why I want her to stay here. If she's here, then maybe she'll be able to make friends with you and the others. Maybe you guys can bring her out of her protective shell. Maybe you guys can change her."

Itachi said and I just stared at him in silent awe. I could understand he wanted to help that girl, but she was practically a stranger and he just expected me to be okay with her staying with us?

I was about to tell him just what I thought until I remembered one Christmas when Itachi had invited Pein and the rest of the members of the Akatsuki over when I was nine. I remembered Deidara arriving late and when he finally came inside I saw a black and blue haired girl practically attached to his legs while his sister went over to Konan and started talking. Itachi had said hello to Deidara and the girl, but I hadn't caught her name until Itachi beckoned me to come closer. He then put his hand on my shoulder and smiled down at the girl before introducing us. As soon as the girl heard my name and she looked at me with those ice blue eyes I knew this wouldn't be the only time I saw her.

I frowned as the memory faded and my attention was focused back in the present. For some reason after having been introduced, Skye stopped clinging to Deidara and clung to me. Konana and Deidara's sister thought it was cute. I thought it was annoying, and my brother and his friends found it amusing.

"It's the same girl, isn't it?"

I asked after some time and Itachi turned away from the stairs to look at me before slowly nodding.

"You remember."

He said and I nodded.

"A lot of time has passed and a lot has changed, but she's still the same girl."

He said and I just glanced back in the direction of the stairs. How I hadn't managed to put two and two together until now bothered me. Before she had left with Deidara and his sister, Skye and I had actually gotten rather close. She was the only other person, other than Itachi, that I let close.

"I won't let anything happen to her."

I said, turning back to look at my brother and wanted to smile at the look of surprise in his eyes.

"...Sasuke..."

He said and, this time, I did smile.

"She's practically family after all right?"

I asked and he shook his head at my comment before smiling at me.

"Right."

He said and I nodded before getting to my feet.

"Family protects family, no matter what."

I said before grabbing a couple slices of pizza from the box on the counter, then heading up the stairs. I wasn't sure when Skye was going to wake up, but she'd probably be hungry when she did. It was strange having Skye back, and would probably only get worse from here on out. But like Itachi said, she was practically family and I'd-no, we'd protect her.


	7. Wake Ups Backfired

-Itachi-

I woke up just as Sasuke was coming down the stairs. He was already ready for school and I remembered I should probably call Deidara and let him know I decided to enroll Skye in Sasuke's high school. I'd called them and set everything up last night.

"Sasuke, can you go wake up Skye?"

I asked as I dialed Deidara's cell, he nodded before heading back up the stairs. I sat down at the island and Deidara picked up on the third ring.

"How is she? Is everything okay, yeah?"

He asked before I could even say anything and I couldn't help but shake my head at him. Only when it came to Skye could Deidara act like a mother hen, but we were all like that when it came to her.

"She's fine. She had a nightmare about something last night, but once she settled back down she slept soundly."

I said and heard him sigh in relief on the other end.

"But the reason I called was to tell you I enrolled her in Sasuke's high school."

I said and held the phone away from my ear at the stream of profanities coming from the other end.

"Deidara, I know, but she needs to be around other people. She can't stay by herself, you know what could happen if we left her alone."

I said once he stopped cussing me out and heard him sigh again.

"He'll look after her right? You both will, yeah?"

He asked and I smiled slightly as I leaned back in my chair.

"You know we will Deidara. Sasuke will look after her in school, and you, me, Pein, Konan, and Sasori will look after her any other time."

I said and got silence from his end for a while before he finally spoke again.

"What do you think happened to her Itachi, yeah?"

He asked and that made me freeze. Konan had told Pein and I what she thought had happened, but none of us knew for sure. The only person who knew was Skye, and she wasn't telling.

"I don't know Deidara, but she's here now and that's all that matters."

I said and heard him mutter something I couldn't catch. I was about to ask him what he'd said when I heard a loud thump from upstairs.

"Deidara, I'm gonna have to go. It would seem that Skye is still as hard to get out of bed as ever."

I said and heard him, and what sounded like Sasori, laugh from the other end before I hung up.

I headed up the stairs and walked to the guest room that was now Skye's. I pushed open the door to see my brother being pinned down by a rather unhappy looking Skye.

"You still haven't learned the proper way to wake her up have you Sasuke?"

I asked from the doorway as I leaned against the doorjam and watched the show. It was actually rather amusing.

"Don't just stand there enjoying this, help me!"

Sasuke called out to me as Skye started to throttle him and I decided to intervene.

"Take it easy Skye."

I said as I wrapped and arm around her waist and pulled her up off my brother before any permanent damage could be done.

"Don't wake me up like that! He woke me up like that too! Don't...just don't..."

She screamed, but by the end of it her voice trailed off and she stopped trying to get out of my arms.

I looked at her a little concerned about what all she had been put through, but knew not to ask.

"Sasuke go downstairs and finish getting ready."

I told him and he did as I said without question. I set Skye down on the bed.

"He didn't mean any harm Skye, he was just trying to wake you up because you have school."

I informed her as I walked over to the closet and pulled out some clothes for her.

"Go ahead and take a shower, then we can take care of your hair before you have to go."

I said and she scowled at me about mentioning her hair before grabbing the clothes and disappearing into the bathroom. I sighed once the door was shut behind her and sagged against the wall. It was harder dealing with her now than it was before. At least before the only thing that would set her off was taking the last of her favorite soft drink, calling her friends names, or someone singing the lyrics to a song wrong. Now it seemed that almost _everything_ brought up a bad memory for her.

_Just what has happened to you in the three years apart Skye?_

I wondered as I heard the water in the bathroom cut on.

* * *

-Skye-

When I felt Sasuke shaking my shoulder to try and wake me up I was reminded of when Shinta would do that then beat me for not waking up fast enough. I had thought it was him again and attacked before he could attack me. Once Itachi had pulled me off Sasuke and I realized what I'd done I felt bad and tried to explain without telling them.

"Dammit!"

I shouted before punching the tiled wall of the shower. I hissed in pain when I realized I'd just split one of my knuckles open and the hot water was hitting the openly bleeding wound.

"Well damn."

I mumbled before pulling my hand to my chest and holding it there as the water washed over it. I had already finished my shower, so I stepped out and got dressed before wrapping my hand. At least it wasn't the one I wrote with, but I knew it wouldn't escape Itachi's notice.

I walked out of the bathroom with a pair of scissors and a comb and handed them to Itachi before sitting down on the edge of the bed with my back to him. I heard him walk up behind me and felt him comb through my hair first before starting to cut it and even out the shredded mess that had been created by Shinta in his drunken rage.

"Do I _want_ to know what happened to your hand just now?"

He asked and I pulled the sleeve of the long sleeve shirt Itachi had given me over my wrist to try and hide it.

"Still punching walls in aggrivation I see."

He said teasingly and I frowned at the fact he was picking on me, but to be honest, I'd kinda missed it.

"Tachi?"

I asked after some time and heard him hum in response.

"What would you do, if someone you thought loved you turned out to be the one who caused you the most pain?"

I asked and felt his hands still in my hair for a second before continuing what they were doing.

"I suppose you could try and deal with it, see if it gets better."

He said and I frowned at the fact I had tried that and it didn't do shit for me.

"But that rarely works out, you probably should get away from them."

He said and I looked down at my hands. I had tried to run away from Shinta a couple of times, but each time he'd followed me and said he was sorry and that he loved me, and like a fool, I believed him and always went back with him.

"Done."

Itachi said, bringing me out of my daze and I turned to see him step back from me and I got to my feet and walked back into the bathroom to see what he'd done. I stared at the girl in the mirror in complete awe. Itachi had cut my hair so that my bangs hung down infront of my eyes, but could still be pushed back when I wanted. It was long in the front, down to my shoulders, but short in the back.

"You like?"

I heard Itachi ask from behind me and turned to see him leaning in the doorway.

"No."

I said as I walked over towards him. I saw him frown in confusion before I threw myself at him and wrapped my arms around him.

"I _love_ it!"

I shouted and heard him laugh at my statement before hugging me back.

"Alright, finish getting ready. We can't have you being late on your first day."

He said as he pulled away and walked out of the room.

I walked back into the bedroom and cleaned up the hair on the ground and threw it away before looking at myself in the mirror. The red, long sleeve Akatsuki shirt made me smile, despite it being a little baggy on me and the black skinny jeans hung low off my hips, but the black and white checkered studded belt helped to keep it put. I pulled on my black motorcycle boots before heading down the stairs.

"Tachi, I don't have a bookbag."

I said as I walked into the kitchen. I saw Sasuke sitting at the island eating what looked like cereal.

"It's not like you'll actually use it."

Sasuke said and I glared at him, but he was right. I'd carry most of my stuff anyways, but I still wanted it.

"Here, you've got notebooks and a sketchpad in there."

Itachi said as he handed me a messanger bag with his band's logo on it.

"Thanks."

I said with a smile as I pulled the strap over my head and let it fall against my hip. Sasuke stood up just as I was about to ask Itachi how we'd get to school.

"Come on Skye."

He said and grabbed my wrist, pulling me along after him, not giving me a chance to respond.

Sasuke pulled me out of the house and down the street.

"I _can_ walk on my own you know."

I said and he simply let go of my wrist and we walked in silence. I saw the marks I'd left around his neck from this morning and felt bad.

"Sorry about trying to choke you."

I said and saw him turn to look at me before looking ahead of us again.

"It's okay."

He said and I smiled at him as I walked beside him. But as we got closer to the highschool I couldn't help but start to feel like the world was shrinking and closing in on me.

"It's okay Skye, I know we aren't as close as you and Itachi, but I consider you family and I'll be there for you."

He said as we walked through the gates surrounding the school and I couldn't help but smile at him. I guess Sasuke wasn't as bad as I had thought he was.

"Thanks Sasuke."

I said before following him further into the schoolyard.

* * *

-Deidara-

I sat on my couch between Sasori and Pein while Konan was in the kitchen making something to eat. We were all waiting on Itachi to get here so we could start practice, but I just wanted to know how Skye took the knowledge of her having to go to school.

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late but I had to take care of some last minute things with the school."

Itachi said as he walked in the door.

"Was she okay? Was she mad, did she seem nervous? Tell me, yeah!"

I said, getting right infront of him.

"Dei, dude, calm down."

Sasori siad and I glared at him before turning back to look at Itachi.

"Dei, she was fine. Sasuke will look out for her and she was in one piece when she left this morning. Relax and let's play some music."

He said and I wanted to argue, but stopped myself. He was right, I was acting worse than my sister did whenever Skye and I would come home after dealing with some of the idiots at her middle school. It was so weird to realize Skye had grown up, but she had. She had only been fifteen when she left and now she was eighteen and in high school.

"Deidara!"

Pein shouted at me and I flinched at his tone before going over and joining them with our instruments. I was worrying too much, Itachi was right. I should just relax and play some music. Everything would be okay...right?


	8. Introductions

A/N: I'd like to thank OokamiLover19 for helping me figure some things out for this chapter. Thank you. To the rest of you, I hope you all enjoy the update.

* * *

-Skye-

Sasuke led the way through the throng of students going this way and that and I stayed as close to him as I could without actually holding onto him. He finally stopped once we reached a Sakura tree that was settled in the middle of the schoolyard with a wall of bricks surrounding it. I blinked in surprise at the beauty of it and felt the urge to sketch it, but when Sasuke spoke my attention was drawn from the tree to what he was saying.

"Guys."

He said and I looked from him to who he was talking to and saw about six people all lounging around the tree. There was a blone haired boy with what looked like whisker marks on his face talking to a auburn haired boy who looked like he wasn't paying him any attention considering he had his headphones in. There was a dark blue haired girl talking to a boy with coffee colored hair tied back into a ponytail, but somehow he managed to make it seem hot and not girly. Then there was a boy with dark brown, almost black hair pulled up into a spiky ponytail that oddly resembled a pineapple lying on the ground by the base of the tree with his eyes closed. From the soft snoring sounds that I heard from his direction I knew he was alseep. But what shocked me the most out of all of them was the boy with black hair in a bowl cut fashion with really bushy eyebrows wearing what looked to be a green spandex suit and orange legwarmers.

_Just what kind of people do you hang out with Sasuke?_

I wondered to myself as Sasuke spoke again and got everyone's attention.

"Oh Sasuke, when did you get here?"

The blonde asked as he turned from the red-head our way. I noticed he had bright blue eyes and he was pretty cute, but I could already tell he was a loud mouth and I didn't go for those kind of guys. Not that I'd be going for any kind of guy at the moment anyways.

"Don't you pay attention to anything you dweeb?"

Sasuke asked and I was surprised to see him talk to the blonde like that.

"Hey, don't be mean Sasuke! I was busy talking to Gaara!"

The blonde shouted and I cringed at his loud remark which made him look my way.

"Oi, who are you!?"

He asked, but before I could even think about answering he opened his mouth again.

"When will you fangirls get it? Sasuke's not interested, away with you!"

He shouted at me, but when I only stared at him like he was an idiot he suddenly frowned before jumping at me.

On instinct I backflipped out of the way before pushing off of the ground and landing lightly on my feet a few feet away from the blonde. I heard the shocked exclamations of those by the tree, but kept my eyes focused on the blonde who was coming after me again.

_What's this guy's problem?_

I wondered as I calmly dodged him each time. After a couple of minutes of him trying to, what I guess was pin me to the ground because he kept jumping around like a yellow haired grasshopper, I got annoyed and stopped dodging him and squared my shoulders as I waited for his next 'attack'. When he jumped at me again I side stepped him so he went past me slightly before I grabbed the back of his orange and black jacket as well as his outstretched arm, then I knocked his feet out from under him and flipped his ass over onto his back.

"What the fuck is your problem man!? Sasuke was about to tell you who I was if you would just shut your mouth and listen, and what the fuck makes you think I'm a fangirl? Do I _look _like a damn fangirl to you?"

I asked him and only got him blinking up at me in shock as a response. I sighed at his lack of an answer before turning my attention back to Sasuke who was staring at me with a shocked look on his face which made me smile just slightly. I walked back over to him and crossed my arms with a huff, blowing part of my bangs out of my face as I did so.

* * *

-Sasuke-

I know we had all gotten tired of the fangirls that seemed to follow me, Neji, and Gaara everywhere, but I hadn't expected Naruto to react the way he did. I was about to yell at the idiot to leave Skye alone when I saw her flip his ass onto the ground and start yelling at him. I couldn't do anything but stare in shock at her. She had barely said anything except for apologizing for this morning and now she had blown up on Naruto like I had never seen anyone do before.

She walked back over to my side and crossed her arms with a huff that made me smirk knowing Naruto didn't just annoy me.

"As I was saying before the dobe went crazy."

I said, ignoring Naruto's complaint as he got to his feet and joined our group of friends.

"This is Skye, she's an old family friend who's staying with me and Itachi since our house has too many rooms for just the two of us. She's, I think around Shikamaru's age, but you'd have to ask her for confirmation."

I said glancing at her to see her nod and smirked again before turning my attention back to the others.

"Skye, these are my friends."

I said, ignoring Naruto once again when he started yelling about how I finally called him my friend. The dweeb could be so annoying sometimes.

"The one asleep is Shikamaru Nara, he's your age but a Senior like Neji since they're both really smart."

I said, motioning first to Shikamaru then Neji.

"Neji is Hinata's cousin and they're both Hyugas. She's a Junior like me."

I said, introducing the shier of the two and Hinata waved timidly.

"The redhead sitting by the brick wall ignoring everyone is Gaara no Sabaku. He's mine and Naruto's age and has two siblings who are in college."

I said and he didn't even look up which only served to prove my point of him ignoring everyone.

"The one in the green spandex is Rock Lee. He's a Junior like the rest of us and stuck on youth. You'll know what I'm talking about when you talk to him."

I said when I saw the look Skye gave me.

"And the blonde dweeb who chased you around earlier is-"

"My name's Naruto Uzumaki!"

Naruto said popping up infront of us, cutting me off.

"Yes, that's Naruto. He's a Junior as well and as you can tell a knuckle head, loud, and a total dweeb."

I said and smirked at the offended look on Naruto's face.

"That's everyone I think."

I said as I looked around at our group of friends. I turned to look at Skye to see her response only to see her looking around at my friends as if slowly taking in who was who and storing it to memory.

"You don't have to try and remember everyone at once."

I said but she simply shook her head before turning to look at me with a small smile.

"It's fine, I want to remember them."

She said and I looked at her for a few minutes before shrugging it off. If she wanted to then who was I to stop her?

"So Skye-"

Naruto started, but whatever he had been about to say was cut off by the shrill ring of the bell telling us all that it was time for homeroom.

"Come on dweeb, we gotta get to class."

I said, walking past Naruto in the direction of our homeroom, but stopped when I remembered Skye didn't have a schedule yet.

"Go on ahead Sasuke, I know how schools work. I'll be fine."

She said, knowing what I was going to ask before I did so.

"You sure?"

I asked as Neji woke Shikamaru up and he, Lee, and Neji headed for their class while Hinata walked beside Naruto.

"Yeah. I'm not a child, but thanks."

She said with a smile and I hesitated a few minutes before nodding and turning to head to class. If she needed anything she knew my number, she could text me.

* * *

-Skye-

I watched as Sasuke headed for his class. I couldn't help but smile at the fact Sasuke seemed to have a good number of friends. I was slightly jealous of him to be honest, but I was the one who always seemed to push people away from me.

I was about to head for the office to get my schedule when I saw the redhead from before still sitting against the wall.

_What did Sasuke say his name was, Guru? No, that's not right. Greg? No...Gaara I think it was._

I thought to myself as I walked over to him. I crouched down infront of him, making sure there was plenty of space between us before calling his name.

"Gaara."

I got no response so I tried again.

"Gaara!"

Still nothing.

_Damn, just how loud does he have that music of his?_

I wondered before reaching out with one of my hands and gently pulling out one of his earbuds.

Many things happened after that. I heard Skillet's Monster playing loudly from the headphone in my hand, a pale hand suddenly grasped my wrist tightly, and Gaara's eyes opened and glared right at me.


	9. School Days

A/N: Longer chapter only because I had to explain a few things. Also, I know Skye seems like a bitch in this chapter, but the idea hit me and I wrote it. Don't blame me, blame the idea-yeah okay, I guess that would be my fault. Oh well, please read and review anyways.

* * *

-Gaara-

I had been halfway paying attention to whatever Naruto was blabbing to me about before Sasuke showed up and gained the blonde's attention. Sure I had become friends with him and others and dropped my bad...habits, but I still liked my solitude and that boy could talk like there was no tomorrow and about the most random of things. Sometimes I found it easier to just ignore him.

I closed my eyes once Naruto's attention was no longer on me and turned my music up as I leaned against the brick wall surrounding the main tree in the schoolyard. We were all just waiting for the bell to ring, not that I wouldn't mind skipping class and staying right where I was. I was comfortable and for once the voice in my head was leaving me alone.

Skillet's Monster came on and I mentally smiled to myself at the irony of the song. I was singing the lyrics in my mind as they were played when I suddenly felt one of my earbuds being pulled out of my ear. I grabbed whoever did it's wrist and opened my eyes to glare at them expecting it to be Naruto or even Shikamaru. What I hadn't been expecting was to see a girl with short dark purple hair and navy blue colored bangs that framed her face and dropped down into her sky blue eyes crouched down infront of me.

"Care to let go?"

She asked and I narrowed my eyes at the rather hateful way she'd phrased her question.

"Who are you? Another fangirl who hasn't learned when to leave well enough alone?"

I asked before releasing her and pushing her away from me enough to make her fall on her ass. When she did so I got a look at the rest of her. She was wearing a pair of black skinny jeans held up by a black and white checkered belt and a long sleeve Akatsuki shirt. I noticed she leveled me with a glare, but I was unaffected.

"What the hell is with everyone and thinking I'm a GD fangirl!?"

She hissed through clenched teeth and I blinked in slight surprise at her outburst.

"First that Naruto boy and now you. Well excuuuse me for bothering to tell your emotional ass that the bell to go to class had rung."

She said as she pushed herself to her feet and dusted herself off.

"Man, this is why I don't bother with people. You try to be nice to _one_ person and they still treat you like an ass."

The girl continued and I realized she wasn't really talking to me anymore so much as muttering to herself, but I had to admit it was rather entertaining, even if she was talking about the way I'd acted towards her. It wasn't my fault she decided to bother me, she could have just as well let me be. It was her choice, not mine, to bother me. Why sould I be nice?

"What the fuck are you still doing on the damn ground you dolt? Stand up already!"

She snapped at me as she looked at me while placing her hands on her hips and I glared up at her, no longer finding her words to be entertaining.

"I don't have to listen to you."

I said simply as I got to my feet and grabbed my bag.

"You got up didn't you?"

She asked with a smirk and I narrowed my eyes at her. Just who did she think she was to be talking to me like that?

"Look girl, back off."

I snapped at her and saw her narrow her eyes just slightly before she crossed her arms under her chest.

"And I'm suppose to listen to you why?"

She asked without the usual sense of fear most people had when I spoke to them which both shocked and angered me further.

"Buzz off."

I growled at her before walking past her to head to somewhere without annoying blue eyed girls.

"Oh what, now I'm some kind of insect? Man, you sure you're in the right grade level? I'm pretty sure even two year olds can tell a girl apart from an insect."

She said and I stopped walking and clenched my fists in anger. This chick did not know who she was messing with.

**You could always kill her. You've killed people before, what's one more?**

The voice in my head asked and I closed my eyes to try and block it out.

_I'm not killing anyone._

I said and heard the voice laugh.

**If not kill, then beat. You could teach her a lesson not to mess with you, but not have to kill her.**

It said and I was really tempted to do just that, but then I remembered what Naruto had said about if I didn't want people to see me as a monster then I shouldn't give them a reason to.

I took a deep breath before letting it out slowly.

_She's not even worth it._

I thought to myself as I started walking again, focusing on simply getting away before my control slipped. All the while, ignoring the voice in my head.

* * *

-Skye-

I watched as Gaara left, my eyes still narrowed at his retreating figure. It wasn't until he was gone that I realized how much of a bitch I had just been when it had been me who had bothered him.

"Shit."

I cursed as I headed towards the office. I hadn't meant to say the things I did, but for some reason Gaara's attitude had just really irked me and I didn't think before I opened my mouth.

I thanked the lady behind the desk after she'd given me my schedule and map of the school. I glanced at the map only a couple of times as I walked around, but once I got the basic layout of the school I tossed it into the nearest trashcan and headed for my homeroom. I opened the door and ignored the sudden silence that took over the room because of it as I walked up to the teacher. He was a man who looked to be in his late twenties, early thirties, but I wasn't sure because he had silver colored hair that I swear seemed to defy gravity with the way it stood up and had a mask covering half of his face with a headband covering one of his eyes.

"Skye Blaze?"

He asked in a soft whisper as he read the paper I'd handed him explaining I was a new student and that I had to have that slip signed by all my teachers.

"Well, welcome to Konoha High. Take a seat wherever you can find one and wait for the bell."

He said as he signed the paper before handing it back to me. I blinked in surprise at his statement before doing as he said. I glanced down at the paper and saw his name was Kakashi Hatake and realized I had him for both homeroom and first period.

I looked up from the slip of paper in my hand and glanced around the room for an empty desk, but there didn't seem to be one.

_Where the hell am I suppose to sit?_

I wondered before hearing my name being called and looking up to see the blonde from earlier standing up and waving his hand in the air like an idiot.

_Is there anywhere else free? Please, anywhere._

I thought to myself as I scanned the room, but there was no other seats and with a sigh I headed up the stairs to where the blonde was.

"Hey, you've got homeroom with Kakashi-sensei too?"

He asked with a smile as he finally sat down and I sweatdropped at his question as I sat down. Wasn't it obvious? I was here wasn't I?

"You'll have to excuse Naruto, he can be an idiot sometimes."

Someone said from my left and I turned to see the pineapple haired boy that had been asleep under the tree.

"My name's Shikamaru."

He said with a lazy smile and I felt myself smile in response.

"I know, Sasuke already told me all of your names earlier, but you were alseep."

I said and saw his eyes widen slightly in surprise before he just shrugged it off.

"So how do you know Sasuke?"

I heard Naruto ask from my right and turned to look at the blonde again.

"You really don't pay attention to anything do you?"

I asked and he just laughed while rubbing the back of his head.

"Nope."

He said with a big grin and I shook my head at him.

"He and Itachi are friends of me and my cousin."

I said and for a second got to enjoy silence from Naruto before he opened his mouth again.

"Wow really, who's your cousin!?"

He asked and I cringed at how loud he was speaking despite being right next to me.

"Stop yelling Naruto, we don't need her to go deaf because you can't keep it at a normal decibel."

Shikamaru said with a yawn and I found myself smiling again. I didn't expect to be able to react normally around people, but I guess Tachi knew better than I did. Though I still felt rather bad about how I'd spoken to Gaara earlier, he really didn't need to be a victim to my temper.

Homeroom ended with the shrill sound of the bell and I watched as most kids filed out of the room, but Shikamaru and Naruto stayed seated.

"So we have first period together too, sweet!"

Naruto shouted and I mentally sighed. I had a feeling like he just wasn't one to speak normally, but surprisingly I found I didn't really mind all that much.

"Youthful maiden!"

I heard someone shout from the front of the class and turned with wide eyes to see who was yelling stupid ass shit like that, only to see the boy in green spandex Sasuke had called Lee spinning around like a top before stopping right infront of me and taking my hand in his.

"Such beauty! Such youth! You must come run laps with me!"

He shouted and I blinked in shock, not knowing what to say.

"Oh give it a rest Lee. If you want someone to run laps with wait til Gym class."

I heard one of the other kids say and saw Lee's expression fall for a bit before he perked right back up and struck a pose before sitting down infront of Naruto like none of that had even happened.

"Ummm, is that...normal?"

I asked Shikamaru unsure and heard him chuckle.

"For Lee, yeah."

He said and I just nodded before turning my attention to the front of the class again when I heard more people enter. I recognized Sasuke as soon as he walked in and frowned when I saw a group of girls walk up to him and trying to get his attention by flaunting their scantily clad bodies for him to see. He simply ignored them and sat down infront of me. He turned enough for me to see a smile on his face before he crossed his hands and rest his chin on them. At least he was glad I had made it to class.

"Alright, grab the books from the closet Koni and everyone open to page twenty-six."

Kakashi said and a boy with brown hair stood up and went to the closet befor coming out a few seconds later with a big stack of textbooks and started passing them out. When I got my book I looked down at it and frowned in confusion.

"The intermediate beginner's guide to adept amateur writing?"

I read aloud though it came out as more of a question.

"Kakashi teaches a Language Arts class, but don't worry all he ever does is have us read by ourselves while he reads a book himself."

Sasuke said and I looked from him up to the front of the class to see our silver haired teacher reading a smaller book in the guise of reading the textbook. I saw the cover and frowned.

"I don't want to know what kind of book that is, do I?"

I asked and got a chorus of 'nos' from all four of the boys sitting around me.

_Today is going to be really weird isn't it?_

I asked myself as I opened my textbook and started reading.

I followed Sasuke and Naruto from the cafeteria out into the schoolyard and to the Sakura tree from this morning. I blinked in surprise when I saw all the people from this morning there, including Gaara who had his headphones in once again and was ignoring everyone just as before. The only difference was now he would occasionally take a bite out of something on his trey.

I saw Hinata smile at me and I waved at her. I'd found out that she, Neji, and Lee were in my second period Enviromental Science but none of the others. My third period was Algebra II and I only had Neji and Shikamaru in that class. My fourth was Art, but since we were only at lunch right now I didn't know who was going to be in there with me.

Naruto went to sit by Sasuke who had sat down by Neji and Hinata. I noticed Hinata blushed when Naruto sat between her and Sasuke and smiled slightly. I glanced around to see Shikamaru had laid down beneath the tree once more and was eating an apple while staring up through the branches and I sighed unsure of where to sit before walking over to Gaara, since he seemed to be set on ignoring everyone, and sitting down. I noticed he tensed just slightly and sighed again as my guilt for earlier came back. I'd apologize, but he had his damn headphones in again.

* * *

-Gaara-

I was blaring my music to try and drown out the damn voice in my head as I ate my lunch when I suddenly felt someone sit down beside me. I glanced over and tensed when I saw the girl from this morning.

**Kill her. After what she said, she deserves. Do it now! NOW!**

The voice screamed at me and I simply turned my music up louder to drown it out. I heard it screaming at me, but thankfully my music was louder than it.

I glanced at the others to have something to do and saw Sasuke talking with Neji while Lee and Naruto were having some sort of contest to see who could eat their food the fastest. Shikamaru was laid out beneath the tree as per usual and Hinata was sitting between Neji and Naruto with a small blush on her face. Her crush on my blonde haired friend was obvious to anyone to took time to notice, which unfortunately for Hinata, Naruto hadn't done. I reached for my last bit of food left on my trey without looking and froze when I felt my hand touch something that _wasn't_ the apple on my trey.

My head whipped around to see my hand touching the purple and blue haired girl's. Her eyes met mine and she mouthed a quiet 'sorry' to me before pulling her hand back. I blinked in surprise at that before picking up my apple and taking a bite.

_What happened to the snarky bitch from this morning? Better yet, why the hell is she even sitting next to me?_

I wondered as I ate my apple and glanced at her. She looked up from her food and I froze when our eyes met again, not really sure what to expect. She made a motion for me to take out one of my earbuds and I reluctantly took the one nearest to her out just out of sheer curiosity to what she wanted. She leaned closer to me and I narrowed my eyes at her movement before I heard her speak.

"About this morning, I'm sorry."

She whispered and my eyes widened just slightly.

"I had no right to snap at you like I did and I'm really sorry."

She said and pulled away before I could even really respond.

"Hey Skye, do you know the way to your fourth period?"

I heard Naruto ask the girl beside me and saw her shake her head before she got to her feet and followed Naruto to throw their trash away. I watched as they both walked away as the bell signaling the end of lunch rang still in shock at her words.

_What just happened?_

I wondered as I got to my feet and threw my trash away. Today just made no sense to me.


	10. Artful Ideas

A/N: Truth be told I'm sorta just writing whatever comes to my head. If you don't like it, I'm sorry. Also, a thank you goes out to my friend OokamiLover19 for the chapter name of this chapter as well as your comment on it. Thank you, you have no idea how much you've helped me.

* * *

-Skye-

I followed Naruto down the hall until he stopped infront of a room.

"Here it is."

He said and I smiled my thanks to him before he ran off. I still couldn't believe I felt so at ease with all of these people. I had expected to be able to do like I'd always done and just ignore people who tried to get close to me, I guess I was tired of being alone.

I took a deep breath before letting it out as I opened the door to my final class and walking inside. I handed the teacher the slip of paper he had to sign and scanned the room as he did so. My eyes widened in shock when I recognized a familiar redhead.

"Alright, go sit at an empty easle."

The teacher said and I nodded as I took the paper back from him before walking to the only empty easle in the room, the one right next to Gaara.

"Alright, we're pretty much going to be working from your imaginations today. Pick up the charcoal pencil and start drawing until the bell, we'll work more on your ideas tomorrow."

The teacher, whose name I think was Asuma, said and everyone did as he said. I looked at the canvas board infront of me after having picked up the pencil and tried thinking of what exactly I wanted to draw. I glanced around the room to see what the other kids were drawing and saw a variety of things. Some were drawing dogs or cats, some houses and other buildings, fields of flowers or people. They were decent, but not all that great.

I glanced over to my left to see what Gaara was drawing and felt my eyes go wide when I saw him drawing what looked to be a barren desert landscape with the fullmoon in the background and a figure crouched in the sands below. It was really good. I looked from the canvas to the person drawing it and for the first time really took in his features. His auburn colored hair stuck up in random places, but somehow managed to look good on him. I noticed his bangs slid to one side to expose the red kanji tattoo for love on his forehead that stood out against his rather pale skin. I moved down to his eyes that were focused on the canvas infront of him and saw his teal colored eyes were outlined in what many could confuse for mascara, but I knew better. They were dark circles that made his eyes stand out and I wondered if he ever got sleep.

He looked from his canvas at me and I looked away quickly and blushed when I realized I'd been staring at him. I could feel his eyes still on me and felt my face heat up even more until a sudden idea popped in my head and I started making marks on the canvas board infront of me. It wasn't long until everything else faded away as I added shadows and details to my drawing. I jumped when the bell rang and looked around slightly dazed until I realized class was over. I looked back at my canvas and felt a smile tugging at the edges of my lips.

* * *

-Gaara-

I hadn't expected the girl from before to be in my Art class. I think Naruto had called her Skye. I noticed she sat down at the easle beside mine and chose to ignore her once Asuma gave us our assignment. I started sketching the desert at night and wound up getting caught up in the details of shading until I felt someone's eyes on me. It wouldn't be the first time and I turned to glare at whoever it was only to see it was Skye and felt my glare lessen as I watched her look away.

_Had she just been checking me out?_

I wondered as I continued to stare at her and my question was answered when I saw her blush, but that didn't make it any less confusing. This girl just didn't make sense to me. One moment she's invading my personal space where others are too afraid to do so, yelling at me and being a snarky bitch, then apologizing and checking me out.

I noticed she had started to draw something on her canvas board and got curious to see if she had any talent since the rest of the people in this class had either very little or none at all. I was shocked to see she was almost as good as me, if not better. I watched as she drew the lines of whatever she was drawing only to go back and add in more detail where she saw fit and shadows.

The bell rang ending class and I saw her jump and look around slightly out of it and felt the edges of my lips lift in a smirk. I saw her look back at her canvas and a small smile formed on her lips and I looked from her to the canvas and felt my eyes widen slightly. It was a drawing of this morning with everyone sitting around the Sakura tree. The details in the tree were something to be impressed with, but what surprised me was that she had drawn everyone else with such accuracy. Down to the last detail of their clothing and what they had been doing.

"Alright class, we'll pick up from where we left off tomorrow."

Asuma said, dismissing the class and I saw Skye get to her feet and grab her bag before heading out the door. I looked after her still in shock. She was just full of surprises.

I grabbed my own bag before following after her out of the room and heading for the schoolyard to meet up with everyone before going home. I hadn't even noticed that the voice in my head hadn't said a word since Skye had walked into the Art room.

* * *

-Sasuke-

I ignored Naruto's rambling as I waited for Skye to come out of her last class. I blinked in surprise when I saw her and Gaara walking together, but then I remembered the redhead had Art too.

"So, how was your first day?"

I asked once they both finally reached us. Gaara walked over to his usual spot by the wall and Skye stopped infront of me.

"It was pretty alright actually. Truthfully I wasn't expecting to be able to be around so many people so soon, but I guess Tachi knows best huh?"

She said with a smile and I smiled slightly in return.

"Sasuke! Are you coming to the mall later so we can get all that stuff?"

Naruto asked loudly and I sighed at my blonde haired friend.

"Yes Naruto, I'll be there."

I said and saw him smile before running over to talk to Neji.

"He's an odd one isn't he?"

I heard Skye asked and laughed at that.

"Odd doesn't even begin to cover it."

I said before glancing at my phone.

"We should get going so Itachi can ask how everything went."

I said and she nodded before following me as I started to head out of the schoolyard.

"Saaaasuke~"

I heard someone say from behind me and mentally shuddered at the person that voice belonged to before turning to see Ino, TenTen, and Sakura coming towards me and Skye.

"Hn."

I said in response which for some really odd reason made Ino and Sakura go crazy.

"Sasuke honey, when are you going to take me on a date?"

Ino asked and I mentally gagged at the idea. I wasn't interested in any of the girls infront of me, okay so that wasn't fully true, but unless the emerald eyed girl stopped acting like such a slut I wouldn't give her the time of day.

"Not happening."

I said simply before turning around and starting to walk off with Skye following without saying a word which I was grateful for, but I had no doubt she'd say something on the walk home.

"Oi, who are you!?"

I heard TenTen ask and sighed as I saw Skye turn to look at them.

"Me?"

She asked though I knew she was just being smart.

"Yeah you. What do you think you're doing with our Sasuke?"

Ino asked and I mentally sighed again. Why couldn't they just get the hint and leave me alone?

* * *

-Skye-

I stayed quiet as Sasuke talked to the girls who had come up to him. The blonde was pretty, no doubt about that, but the way she was wearing the purple tubetop and purple and black plaid mini-skirt made her look like a whore. The brown haired girl on her left with her hair up in two buns was wearing what looked to be an golden brown outfit similar to the blonde's, the only difference was that her skirt wasn't nearly as short and her top went up to tie around the neck. The girl on the blonde's right had pink hair. _Pink._ She was wearing a red skirt with a white symbol on the bottom left and an off the shoulder halter top that hugged her curves rather nicely. Out of the three of them, she seemed less of a whore.

I was just going to ignore them since they were focused on Sasuke and knew he could handle it until one of them called out to me.

"Oi, who are you!?"

The brown haired girl asked and I turned around with a shocked expression on my face even though I wasn't and pointed a finger at myself.

"Me?"

I asked innocently just to be smart.

"Yeah you. What do you think you're doing with our Sasuke?"

The blonde asked and it took all I had not to laugh.

_Oh wow Sasuke, now I know why Naruto acted the way he did when he thought I was a fangirl._

I thought, mentally laughing.

"Well!?"

The blonde snapped and I narrowed my eyes at her.

"I'm his girlfriend obviously."

I said completely serious as I moved and wrapped myself around Sasuke's arm, ignoring the look on his face.

"G-Girlfriend!?"

All three asked in shock before glaring at me.

"What makes you think you're good enough to be Sasuke's girlfriend?"

The girl with the buns asked.

"Yeah, do you even know how to please a man in bed?"

The blonde asked.

"You're not even that pretty."

The pinkette said and I laughed as I rolled my eyes at all of them.

"Please."

I said before stepping away from Sasuke and walking towards the girls who all simutaineously took a step back.

"I at least pay attention to what Sasuke wants instead of being blindsided by his looks."

I said to the girl with the buns and she hung her head.

"I may not be the prettiest girl in the world, but at least I don't pretend to be something I'm not."

I said to the pinkette and I heard her gasp and open her mouth to say something only to close it and look at her feet.

"And trust me honey..."

I said to the blonde.

"I know more about pleasing a man in the bedroom than your whoreish little self will ever know. Come on Sasuke."

I said as I grabbed Sasuke's wrist and pulled him after me as I walked past the three shocked girls and started to head home. It wasn't long until Sasuke spoke.

"What was that all about?"

He asked as I let go of his wrist.

"Sorry, but I don't like girls like that."

I said simply and could feel him staring at me.

"You either made it so they'd leave me alone or made it so they spread the news that we're going out."

He grumbled and I couldn't help but laugh at him.

"Relax Sasuke, they won't say anything."

I said and saw him look at me confused.

"How do you know that?"

He asked and I just smiled at him.

"Because I'm me."

I said and smiled wider at the confused look on his face before walking into the house. Today was fun.


	11. Written of the Heart

A/N: I had a different plan when I first started this chapter, but then that idea changed. Anyways, the song used here does not belong to me. All rights go to Evanescence and I do not own Naruto either.

* * *

-Pein-

"She said _what!?_"

Deidara screamed into the phone and I looked over at him and wondered what exactly Itachi had just told him. Whatever it was, it was obviously about Skye's first day at school.

"Haha, I knew things would be interesting again now that she's back."

Sasori said and I looked over at the redheaded drummer and shook my head at him.

"It was Skye, did any of you really expect anything else?"

Konan said from her spot in my lap and I smiled as I tightened my grip around her waist in a small hug.

"I didn't think she'd isolate herself, but now I'm wondering just what our little Skye has done now."

I said and they both nodded in agreement before silence fell between us, only to be interupted by Deidara screaming into the phone again and making us all laugh at the fact he sounded like a sqwaking bird.

"Perhaps you should text Itachi and tell him to bring Skye over when he comes for practice. I'm sure she'd like to hear us play again, it's been a while."

Konan said and I just smirked at her before pulling my phone out of my pocket and texting Itachi and telling him to bring Skye when he came over.

I only had to wait a few minutes before recieving a text from the older Uchiha. I read over it and couldn't help but laugh.

"What is it?"

Sasori asked as I slid my phone back into my pocket.

"It would seem that Itachi already planned on bringing Skye with him."

I told them and heard Konan laugh while Sasori smiled as he turned to look over at Deidara who had hung the phone up since Itachi had said he was on his way over so we could practice. The blonde was currently pacing back and forth in the kitchen of his and Sasori's shared apartment, muttering to himself about how teenagers nowadays just didn't know how to hold their tongues.

"Who wants to bet that he'll cry when she gets here?"

Sasori said, turning to look back at Konan and me. I looked up at my girlfriend to see what she'd say and she simply shrugged with indifference.

"I say he'll yell at her."

I said and Sasori smirked.

"You're on, loser has to buy the other one new equipment."

He said and I rolled my eyes at him. He never did like paying for his own things, even if it was for the band. One of the many reasons why I was thinking of giving the band to Itachi when I left it. I hadn't told any of the others about my decision to leave, not even Konan. It was fun playing with them all, but my heart wasn't as into it as it had been in the past. That, and I wanted to ask Konan to marry me but I wanted to have a way to support her and as much fun as playing in the band was, it didn't bring in enough money for me to support us like I'd like. I knew Konan couldn't give it up and I would never ask her to.

The door opened and Itachi walked in with Skye right behind him.

_I just don't know when I should tell them._

I thought as we all got up and walked over to where we were set up. I saw Deidara walk over to Skye and open his mouth, looking like he was about to yell at her when Skye suddenly attacked him in a hug.

"Haha, I knew that would happen."

Konan said as Sasori and I both sighed since we'd both lost. Looks like we were both going to be pitching in for new equipment.

"Alright guys, let's practice!"

Itachi said, making Skye let go of her cousin and me smile as we started the first song of our playlist. Itachi would be a good bandleader once I left.

* * *

-Skye-

I smiled as I listened to Itachi and the others play through a few of their songs. I had really missed hearing the band play and I was surprised at how good they had gotten.

Itachi suddenly motioned for me to come up to the microphone infront of him as they finished the last part of the song they'd just been playing. I looked up at him confused until I heard the song they started playing and I couldn't help but smile at him.

"You do still remember the words right Skye?"

He asked in a soft whisper away from the mic and I just shook my head at him.

"You really think I'd forget the words to a song _I_ wrote?"

I asked and this time he smiled before stepping back from the mic to give me room. I looked at the others to see them all smiling at me and I felt my heart swell with warmth. Nothing had changed since I left, they were all still my friends. My family, and nothing would ever change that.

I closed my eyes as the intro ended and took a deep breath before opening my eyes and starting to sing.

* * *

-Deidara-

I was shocked and slightly confused when Itachi suddenly motioned for Skye to come up, then I recognized the song he started to play and looked at Skye to see her response to it. I blinked in shock when I saw her smiling and exchanging a few words with Itachi before he stepped back and she closed her eyes. When she opened them again she started singing right as the intro ended.

_"I can't run anymore_

_I fall before you_

_Here I am, I have nothing left_

_Though I've tried to forget_

_You're all that I am_

_Take me home, I'm through fighting it..."_

I had honestly forgotten the effect Skye's voice had on people. I listened as she sang and couldn't help feel like she was trying to tell us all something in the song she sang. I knew when she'd wrote this song, it was a couple of months after her parents get shot. I had convinced her to show it to Itachi so he could talk to Pein about letting us use it in our playlist, but Konan hadn't been able to hit the right notes and Skye sang it instead. It was an unspoken decision that Skye would be the only one to sing it.

_"Broken_

_Lifeless_

_I give up, you're my only strength_

_Without you_

_I can't go one_

_Anymore..."_

I looked around at the others as Skye continued to sing and saw everyone else was looking at Skye in the same way I was. Sasori turned away and hung his head as he played. Konan's eyes filled with tears while Pein had a solemn look on his face and eyes full of understanding. Itachi was the only one I couldn't really read. He was looking at Skye like he wanted to wrap her in a hug, but at the same time it looked like he was holding himself back. Like he was giving her a chance to say something she needed to for a while now.

_"When night falls on me_

_I'll not close my eyes_

_I'm too alive_

_And you're too strong_

_I can't lie anymore_

_I fall down before you_

_I'm sorry_

_I'm sorry..."_

Skye stopped singing and once we had played through the ending chorus we all stopped playing and silence surrounded us. No one wanted to be the one to break it and we all looked at eachother, wondering what we should do next when I heard what sounded like a whimper from Skye's direction and turned just in time to see her eyes roll back in her head and fall towards the floor.

"SKYE!"


	12. Memories of a Bluebird

A/N: Not a happy chapter people. Not a happy chapter. But it is necessary to explain a few things. I got school tomorrow so I'm not sure when I'll update again. Please review!

* * *

-Itachi-

I turned towards Deidara when he suddenly yelled Skye's name only to see him dive and catch his cousin before she could hit the floor.

"Konan!"

He called, panic in his voice and she ran over to him and knelt beside Skye.

"What happened to her yeah? Why'd she collapse?"

He asked as Konan checked Skye's pulse.

"I don't know, but her vitals are fine."

Konan said and Deidara looked down at Skye with a worried expression etched on his usually carefree face.

"You should take her to your room and let her rest."

Konan advised as she stood up. Deidara nodded before changing his hold on Skye so that one hand was hooked under her knees and the other was wrapped around her back before standing up and heading down the hall and into his room without a word, leaving the rest of us to wonder what had caused Skye to suddenly collapse like that.

I hadn't known that she would react like that to the song. If I had, then I wouldn't have called her up. When she started singing we'd all been entranced by her voice in different ways. I'd seen Konan close to crying, Sasori hid his face from view so no one could see his reaction, Pein just looked at her with understanding, and Deidara watched her with different emotions. I was debating with myself. On one hand, I wanted to go comfort her since I could hear the underlying pain in her voice as she sang the song she'd come up with. On the other hand, I knew that whatever she was feeling, whatever she was trying to say through that song that she needed to say it.

"What do you think happened to her?"

Sasori asked from his place behind his drums since none of us other than Deidara and Konan had moved.

"We won't know til she wakes up, and even then that's only if she's willing to tell us."

Konan said and we fell into silence again.

* * *

-No one-

_A man with navy blue hair and green eyes turned when he heard a smaller voice calling him._

_"Daddy! Daddy!"_

_A girl, no older than four, with sky blue eyes and a mix of his navy blue hair and her mother's dark purple hair going down her back in waves of ringlets and curls. The man picked up the little girl with a smile._

_"What is it my little bluebird?"_

_The man asked as he leaned down and gave his daughter an eskimo kiss._

_"Mommy says it's time for dinner and said that afterwards you'd play your guitar for us."_

_The little girl said and the green eyed man smiled._

_"Well if that's what mommy says then I guess we'd better get going."_

_He said, tickling his daughter's belly making her laugh before setting her down._

_"Last one back has to clean the table!"_

_The man said before taking off back towards their little house._

_"No fair daddy, you cheated!"_

_The little girl said with a frown before taking off after her father._

The image faded as Skye frowned in her sleep and was replaced by another one.

_The little girl with blue eyes padded down the hall, clutching a little black and white stuffed kitten as she walked into the kitchen where she'd heard her parents. She'd been woken up by her stomach rumbling with hunger. She was now a yeard older and much had changed._

_As she pushed the door to the kitchen open she saw her parents sitting at the table with glass beakers filled with different things and lines of powder, open flames from a lighter or match when being used, syringes and bags of things she didn't understand littering the table. She looked at her parents to see both with plastic tubing tied around their arms._

_"Mommy? Daddy?"_

_The little girl asked as she saw her father stick a syringe in his arm and push the plunger._

_"What are you doing up!? I thougth we told you to go to bed!"_

_The girl's mother, a woman who once had flowing dark purple hair, soft, beautiful blue eyes and a healthy glow about her snapped. The little girl felt tears well up in her eyes as she looked at the frazzled haired, blood-shot eyed, anorexic woman infront of her who barely looked anything like her mother._

_"B-But I'm hungry..."_

_The little girl said, tears falling from her blue eyes._

_"How the helld do you expect us to survive if you keep eating so much!?"_

_The woman snapped at her daughter, getting up and roughly grabbing her arm._

_"It hurts..."_

_The girl said as she tried to free herself, but her mother only tightened her grip as she grabbed a bag of Cheese Doodles and started dragging the girl back to her room._

_"Now go to bed!"_

_She yelled as she tossed the girl in her room._

_"B-But I'm still hungry."_

_The girl said, tears running down her face. The woman scowled before tossing the bag of Cheese Doodles at her._

_"There!"_

_The woman snapped before slamming the door shut._

The image faded again, only to be replaced by another.

_The little girl had been locked up in her room without supper for the third night in a row. It had been about a month since she'd gone to her parents at night for some food. She'd managed to get out of her room and made her way downstairs only to freeze when she heard her parents speaking in the kitchen._

_"We can't take care of her anymore."_

_Her mother said._

_"Yes we can. If we just ration the food and drugs-"_

_Her father started to say only to get cut off by her mother._

_"No Miaku! I need more, I have to have more."_

_Her mother said and the little girl pushed the door to the kitchen open as quietly as she could so she could see inside._

_"Kora...she's our daughter."_

_Miaku said and Kora turned to look at her husband._

_"Are you willing to give up the drugs to feed her? Have you seen how much she eats!?"_

_She asked, shouting even when the person she was talking to was right across from her._

_"So what would you have me do?"_

_Miaku asked and Kora was silent for a while._

_"Take her and get rid of her. Just leave her, we won't have to deal with her then."_

_Kora said and the little girl felt tears well up in her eyes in confusion and hurt and a whimper escaped her, alerting her parents that she was there._

_"The little rat!"_

_Her mother snapped as her father picked her up._

_"Get rid of her!"_

_She snapped and more tears fell down the girl's face._

_"Shh, it's okay."_

_Her father said as he walked out of the kitchen and to the back door. He pulled on his coat and shoes before helping her into hers, then heading outside and getting into the car._

_He drove them for a while and the girl continued to cry in the passenger seat, clutching the little kitten to her chest. She didn't fully understand what her mother had said, but she knew that it had hurt her._

_"D-Daddy?"_

_The little girl asked, turning to look at her father. He had lost some of his hair and the skin around his eyes had sunk in some from all the drugs and he'd lost about as much weight as her mother had._

_"W-Where are we going daddy?"_

_She asked, but he didn't answer her. He just turned left before parking and cutting the engine off._

_He got outside and went around to the passenger side before picking up the little girl. He walked out into the forest enough that the road was no longer visible before kneeling and setting the girl on her feet again._

_"Daddy?"_

_The little girl asked confused as to what was going on._

_"I'm sorry bluebird, but we can't take care of you anymore."_

_He said as he leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead before standing up and turning to walk back to his car._

_"Daddy!"_

_The little girl yelled, running after him and clutching onto his leg._

_"Let go."_

_He said, trying to shake her off without hurting her._

_"No."_

_The girl said, clutching tighter._

_"I said let go dammit!"_

_He snapped and threw her off his leg and onto the forest floor. Tears welled up in the girl's eyes and he looked down at her for a second before turning and running back to the road._

_"Daddy!"_

_The girl yelled, getting to her feet and running after him. He'd already gotten in his car and started to drive off._

_"DADDY!"_

The image of the little girl crying faded and was replaced by one last one.

_The little girl had been found by a girl and her little brother after she'd collapsed from emotional exhaustion with tears streaming down her face. They took her in after the little girl explained everything. She'd found out their names were Deidara and Kaiarie. Kaiarie had tracked down her parents and tried talking them into taking their daughter back, but they acted like they'd never had a kid and had no idea what she was talking about so she and Deidara took care of her. Some time later they found out they were related, cousins to be exact, and for the first time in a while the little girl was happy again._

_Years passed and the girl had just turned seven. She and Deidara were out at the park to celebrate. They were playing hide 'n seek and Deidara was it. She hid in the tree, high up in the branches hidden by the leaves. She was about to climb back down when she saw two familiar figures walking a few feet away from her. She climbed down hastily as she could without getting hurt and ran over to them._

_"Mom! Dad!"_

_She shouted and they both turned in her direction with confused looks on their faces. She stopped a few feet away from them._

_"It's me, don't you remember?"_

_She asked and the man shook his head._

_"I'm sorry girl, but you have us confused with someone else. We've never had a child."_

_He said and they both turned and walked away. The girl watched them before turning to go find her cousin when she heard four loud bangs from behind her followed by the screech of tires. She whirled around to see the two people on the ground and a silver car zooming down the road._

_"MOM! DAD!"_

_She screamed as she ran over to them. She looked at the woman, but she was already dead. Tears welled up in her eyes before she heard the man call her over. He clutched her hand in his and cupped the side of her face with the other._

_"I'm so sorry...we had to abandon you..."_

_He said and the girl's eyes widened._

_"You are my dad."_

_She said and he smiled before coughing up blood as more seeped from his chest where he'd been shot._

_"I'm sorry my little bluebird..."_

_He said, his grip on her hand slackening slightly._

_"Dad!"_

_She screamed, holding onto his hand tighter, not wanting to lose him again._

_"We loved you Skye...remember that, we loved yo-"_

_He said, but didn't get to finish his sentence as his breath stopped as he choked on his blood and his hand dropped from her face as he died._

_"Dad! No dad, please! DAD!"_

* * *

-Skye-

I woke with a start and felt myself covered in cold sweat. Yet, despite that I still felt too hot. I threw the covers off of me and swung my feet over the bed and onto the cool flooring. I shivered slightly and took a shaky breath before standing.

I walked over to the door and opened it. I walked slowly out into the hallway and closed my eyes with a frown at the sudden change in lighting. It had gotten late during the time I was asleep and I frowned, wondering just how long I had been out. I walked into the living room part of of Deidara and Sasori's apartment and looked around to see Pein and Konan on the couch watching some movie, Sasori by his drums with Deidara and Itachi playing their guitars, no doubt working on one of their songs. None of them had noticed me yet and I shivered at the sudden lonely feeling that swept through me and wrapped my arms around myself to try and keep from shaking.

"Skye?"

I heard someone ask and looked up to see Deidara right infront of me and smiled slightly as I looked up at him and I felt tears well up in my eyes as I remembered what I'd been dreaming of.

"Dei..."

I said as I felt them fall down my face and threw myself at my cousin and cried.


	13. Revelations

A/N: Wrote this in school, hope it makes sense. If not, sorry. I tried.

* * *

-Deidara-

It had taken a while for Skye to finally calm down. I had pulled her over to the couch across from the one Pein and Konan were on. She clung to me like she had when she was younger. Arms wrapped around my waist, head in my lap while the rest of her curled up in a ball beside me. Even now, though she'd stopped crying and shaking, she still clung to me as she rest her head in my lap as we sat on the couch.

Itachi and Sasori left about an hour ago to get some 'comfort food' from the store, but I think they just couldn't stand seeing Skye the way she had been. Konan and Pein were still on the other couch, looking at Skye with concern in their eyes, the movie they'd been watching now being completely ignored.

"Dei..."

Skye whispered and I looked back down at her.

"I'm here, yeah."

I said with a small smile and felt her grip around me lessen slightly.

"I...I remembered my mother and father."

She said quietly and I looked down at her in shock.

"W-What about them did you remember, yeah?"

I asked, fearing the answer.

"What they did...and how they died."

She said, voice quieter than before and I balled my hands up in anger. How her parents could have abandoned her simply because they had gotten hooked on drugs.

"Deidara."

Skye said and I looked back down at her, having been pulled away from my thoughts.

"I want to talk ot Kaiarie."

She said adn I froze. How was I going to tell her my sister was dead?

"Skye..."

I said and she looked up at me expectantly and I bit the inside of my lip before sighing. There was no getting around it, she had to know.

"Kaiarie...Kaiarie had an accident a few years ago and...she didn't survive."

I said and noticed how Skye stiffened in my lap before turning and burying her face in my stomach without saying a word.

"Skye, yeah?"

I asked, a little worried by her silence. The only response I got was her tightening her grip around my waist again.

-Pein-

Itachi adn Sasori came in through the door and Itachi asked how she was and I sighed as I looked over at Deidara to see Skye still curled up on the couch with him, her head in his lap and face buried in his stomach.

"She just found out about Kaiarie."

I said and heard him sigh.

"Did we ever find out what made her collapse?"

Sasori asked and I nodded.

"She remembered things about her parents because the feelings she felt when she sang earlier."

I explained and saw Itachi look over at Skye and Deidara with a look of guilt in his onyx colored eyes.

"It's not your fault Itachi, you know that right?"

I asked and he turned to look at me and nodded.

Silence followed and I frowned. Konan had fallen asleep and I'd let her stretch out on the couch as I moved to the island in the kitchen. Sasori and Itachi had set bags from McDonalds on the counter and I sighed for what felt like the thousandth time. Now wasn't the best of times to tell them, but it was the best I had.

"Itachi, Sasori."

I said, getting both of their attentions. They both looked at me expectanly, waiting for me to speak again.

"I'm quitting the band."

I said, just coming right out and saying it.

The looks of shock and disbelief on both of their faces was the only responses to my statement that I got for a while before Sasori erupted.

"You're what!?"

He shouted and I glared at him.

"Shut up you idiot, do you want to wake Konan up!?"

I snapped at him in a sharp whisper. I saw him frown, but he didn't say anything else.

"Pein."

Itachi said quietly and I looked over at him.

"Are you sure?"

He asked and I nodded.

"I love playing with you guys, but it won't support the life I want for Konan and me."

I said as I looked over at my sleeping girlfriend.

"Have you told Konan of your decision?"

Sasori asked and I frowned as I looked down at my feet.

"Haha man, I'm glad I'm not you."

He said and I glared at him again though he was right. Konan had a nasty temper and she won't take kindly to being told last.

"You'll have to tell her."

Itachi said and I sighed.

"I know. Think you can Deidara and Skye for me?"

I asked, including Skye because even though she wasn't officially a part of The Akatsuki, I still considered her to be part of it since The Akatsuki was pratically family.

He nodded before grabbing one of the bags of food and walking over to the couch Deidara and Skye were on. I saw him start talking to them and sighed as I looked back over at Konan. Telling her was not going to be easy and she wasn't going to take it well, but there was no going back on my decision.


	14. Purple SpiderMonkies

-Skye-

I woke up and looked up to see Deidara alseep above me and smiled at the fact he'd let me stay where I was in his lap despite how uncomfortable I probably made him. I gingerly sat up so as not to bother my blonde haired cousin before getting to my feet and padding into the kitchen area of the apartment. I got a glass from the drainer and filled it with water from the tap before draining it and setting it back where I'd gotten it. I sighed as I turned around and leaned against the counter and looked down at the ground. Learning about Kaiarie's death made me realize how much pain I'd probably made Deidara feel when I'd stopped writing him, but I couldn't pretend to tell him everything was fine and me and Shinta were doing well when just the opposite was happening.

I lifted a hand and placed it on my stomach, fingers slipping under my shirt and running along the stitching on my abdomen. I felt a sadness well up in me at the life that had been taken from me but I knew it was better than raising my child in the environment I had been in before I managed to leave.

"How could you not tell me!?"

I heard someone's voice yell from down the hall and was snapped out of my thoughts and frowned in confusion as I walked out of the kitchen and to the beginning of the hallway.

"Konan, please."

A voice said and I recognized it was Pein.

"I wanted to tell you, but I knew you'd react the way you are now."

He said and I silently made my way further down the hallway so I could hear them better. I stopped outside Pein and Konan's shared room and heard Konan speak again.

"So you told everyone else _but_ me? How does that make any sense Pein? Tell me how!"

She snapped and I winced at the tone in her voice. I knew Konan had a temper, but dang.

"Konan honey, please-"

Pein started, but was cut off.

"Don't Konan honey please me Pein, you should have told me first! I'm your girlfriend for crying out loud!"

The door suddenly opened and I stared wide eyed at Konan at having been caught standing outside their door. She looked at me for a few seconds before turning and stalking down the hallway without a word said between either of us.

"Konan!"

I heard Pein call after her and turned to see him start to run out of their room only to freeze when he saw me standing there.

"You heard all that?"

He asked and I simply nodded and heard him sigh before looking down at his feet and running a hand through his hair.

"It may not be my place to say anything Pein..."

I said and he up at me so I continued.

"...but she has a point. She is your girlfriend and you should have told her first."

I said and saw his face fall at my words.

"But that's over and done with now, so go after her and don't stop trying to make up for your mistake until she forgives you and attacks you with kisses!"

I said before pulling him out of his doorway and pushing him down the hall.

"But...what do I say?"

He asked as I pushed him closer to the living room.

"Oh I'm sure you'll think of _something, _now get your ass in there!"

I said with a smirk as I pushed him out of the hallway and into the living room where Konan was. I walked over to the couch where my cousin was somehow still sleeping and sat down. I had a feeling like Pein had a reason for wanting to leave the band when Itachi had told Deidara and me, and if it was for the reason I was thinking, if he told her she wouldn't be as mad as she was now.

* * *

-Pein-

I wasn't really sure what Skye was talking about when she said I'd think of something, but she didn't really give me much of a choice when she pushed me out of the hallway and into the living room right infront of Konan. I saw her sitting with her arms crossed under her chest and foot tapping angrily on the loveseat across from the couch Skye and Deidara were on. She still looked beautiful even when angry with me.

"Pein, do it."

I heard Skye whisper to me and looked at her confused until I saw her pointing to her left ring finger and felt my eyes widen when I realized what she was talking about before turning back to look at Konan who was ignoring me completely.

"Konan, I'm sorry I didn't tell you first. I was just afraid of how you'd react."

I told her honestly as I reached into the back pocket of my jeans and pulled the box I had there out and held it in my hand infront of me, but Konan hadn't seen it yet since she still wasn't looking at me.

"I don't care, you still should have told me Pein. I thought you trusted me."

She said and I could hear pain replace a bit of the anger in her voice.

"I do trust you Konan, more than you know."

I said and swallowed thickly before taking a deep breath and gathering my nerves to do what I was about to do.

"You said you wanted to know why I wanted to quit the band, right Konan?"

I asked and that got her to glance at me from the corner of her eyes.

"Yeah..."

She said slowly. I moved so I was down on one of my knees and took hold of her hand which made her look at me confused.

"The reason I wanted to quit was so I could find a better way to support us because what kind of husband would I be if I couldn't even support my wife?"

I asked and saw her brows knit together in confusion at my words until they finally sunk in.

"Pein..."

She said and I pressed the button on the side of the box in my hand with my thumb, making the top flip open revealing the ring inside to her.

"Konan, I love you more than anything and I hope you will do me the honors of becoming my wife."

I said, nervous as hell that she'd say no because I'd pissed her off earlier.

"Oh Pein..."

She said quietly and I felt my heart beating like crazy with fear that she was going to say 'sorry, but no' or something like that.

"Yes."

She said and I looked at her in shock.

"What?"

I asked, not fully sure I'd heard her.

"Yes, I'll marry you."

She said and I sighed in relief before smiling up at her and slipping the ring on her finger. She waited til I had finished before she jumped off the loveseat and tackled me to the floor in a kiss.

"About damn time."

I heard someone say from behind us and pulled away from Konan and craned my head back to see Itachi and Sasori standing in the doorway of the hallway looking at us.

"How long have you two been standing there?"

I asked, not bothering to move from my spot on the floor with Konan lying ontop of me in my arms.

"Since we heard Skye telling you to get your ass in here."

Sasori said with a shrug and I shook my head with a slight smile. I should have known.

"So when's the wedding?"

I heard Skye ask and turned to look at the devious purple and blue haired girl sitting on the couch next to a still sleeping Deidara who had a huge smile on her face.

"I was thinking sometime in the summer."

I said, looking down at Konan for her opinion. She just smiled and nodded in agreement with me.

"Someone should probably wake Deidara and fill him in."

Itachi said as I got to my feet, pulling Konan up with me.

"I'll do it."

Skye said and we turned towards her to see her lean over towards her sleeping cousin with a soft giggle before she took a deep breath.

"DEIDEI HELP ME! THERE'S A HUGE PURPLE SPIDERMONKEY ON THE CEILING WHO SAYS HE'S COME TO EAT MY SOUL!"

She shouted loudly in the blonde's ear and his eyes shot open and he jumped in surprise before promptly falling off the couch making us all laugh.

"What's going on, yeah?"

He asked confused which only made us laugh that much more.

"Pein proposed to Konan and are gonna get married sometime this summer!"

Skye shouted happily and I shook my head at her enthusiasm though it was good to see her happy again. I just wondered how long it would last until something else happened.


End file.
